succeed in getting the evening’s adult beverages at the base PX. After the usual
toasts and story-telling in our rooms, we donned our evening attire and strolled
over to the base restaurant (formerly Randolph Hearst’s hacienda) for dinner and
cocktails. Yes, this new Army is OK.

Day 11: Hunter Liggett to Paso Robles: 57 miles, 1,232 feet climbing

Today would provide a relatively easy ride. We headed down G-14 and turned on
Jolon Rd. (G-18) on this cool morning. With no restaurants available, we stopped
at a small country market for coffee and packaged snacks. Near Bradley we rode
country roads paralleling Highway 101. At San Miguel we stopped for lunch at
what some of us called the Pod People Café because of the eerie aloofness of
the waitress and cook. Could it be they were unfamiliar with bike pilgrims?
A local denizen sat at the bar across from us staring unabashedly at us all the
time we were there. Was it our colorful jerseys? We then visited Mission San
Miguel Arcangel, mission number 11, down the street. We were over one-half way
through our quest.

The ride on to Paso Robles continued on country back roads. Two miles from our
destination it was my turn to have a flat caused by the cursed goat’s heads.
We discovered as we rode into town that a large custom car show was taking
place that weekend. The town and city park were filled with restored and
customized cars of all kinds. Nearly all motels were filled up. We rode
over to the county fairgrounds, hoping to camp there. There was both a huge
flea market and a horse show taking place there. We could get no OK to camp
on the grounds. This was not the weekend for four humble pilgrims to be in
Paso Robles. We finally found a Budget Inn which generously provided us with
two rooms for $140 each, a mere double their usual price.

Day 12: Paso Robles to Pismo Beach: 50 miles, 1,901 feet climbing

Paul and I were awakened at 6:00 this morning with a light tap on our door.
We thought, “It can’t be those two guys. Naa.” They never get around this early.
We roused around and went next door about 6:30 to wake them up. No answer to
our knocks. Paul finally got it. “Those weasels”, he exclaimed. “They are up
and over eating breakfast at the restaurant already!” Over we went. Sure
enough; there sat Bob and Harry just finishing up breakfast. We wouldn’t let
them pull that one again. We continued today riding country roads that meandered
south generally paralleling Highway 101. At Atascadero we got on Highway 101 and
began climbing the La Cuesta grade to 1,500 feet. As we approached the summit we
saw the dreaded “bicycles must exit freeway” sign. We were directed to a narrow
concrete road to complete the climb. Then to our horror the road descended into
a narrow canyon and turned into a steep gravel path. We had to pick our way down
about 3-4 miles of this mountain bike trail. Paul, with his mountain bike, was
in his element. At the bottom we were finally allowed to get back on Highway 101
and completed a fast run into downtown SLO to visit Mission San Luis Obispo de
Tolosa.

Gravel Descent to SLO

After lunch we headed down Highway 101 to Pismo Beach SP. On the way we were
passed by another bike tourer, Jason, a student from Oregon State University who
was riding down the coast to San Diego. At Pismo Beach we set up camp in the
bike-and-hike site. Jason joined us. As we carried out the evening’s toast and
discussion ritual an elderly RV’er strolled over. He was fascinated by our
quest and also wanted to tell us his life’s story. This evening we cooked beef
stew for dinner.

Pismo Beach Campground

Day 13: Pismo Beach to Buellton: 60 miles, 2,686 feet climbing

We awoke this morning to a wet campsite caused by dense fog. We packed our soggy
gear and headed down Highway 1 with a good northwesterly tailwind for Mission La
Purisma Concepcion at Lompoc. South of Guadalupe we turned southeast directly
with the wind and we zoomed down the road at 30 mph. After a climb to 1,000 feet
over the Harris Road grade we descended into Lompoc to the Mission.

Summit of Harris Grade

Mission La Purisma

With our next goal as Mission Santa Inez we whizzed down Highway 246 with a brisk
tailwind. In Buellton, just west of Solvang, we found the Flying Flags commercial
RV campground which included at nice grassy tent area. That evening, while
watching an RV’er neighbor struggle with his TV satellite dish in the wind, we
dined on spaghetti and garlic bread.

Cooking Spaghetti in Buellton

Day 14: Beullton to Carpenteria: 65 miles, 2,166 feet climbing

We feasted on Danish pancakes at a nearby restaurant this morning and then rode the
5 miles unloaded to Solvang to visit Mission Santa Inez. After breaking camp and
packing, we headed down Highway 101 over the 925 foot Nojoqui pass for the coast.
As we neared Santa Barbara, Paul found a wallet filled with cash and credit cards
on the highway shoulder. In Santa Barbara, we stopped at bike shop for Harry to
get his pedal and brake cable fixed. Meantime Paul sought out a police station to
submit the wallet. In mid afternoon we finally rode to Mission Santa Barbara and

Skulls at Mission Santa Barbara

then on to Carpenteria. While riding through Santa Barbara an ear-ringed tattooed
cyclist on a mountain bike came up behind me and shouted, “DMSO!” I answered,
“You mean dimethyl sulfoxide?” “Yeah”, he answered, “Great for the joints!”
“Old news”, I answered. Yes, we were definitely in southern California. A
friendly local cyclist approached us along the beach front and rode with us part
of the way, showing us the best way out of town. At the Carpenteria SP bike-and-hike
we met a lone bike tourer from Canada on his way to San Diego. After our ritual
toasts and post ride story-telling we dined at a nearby Thai seafood restaurant.

Happy Hour at Carpenteria

Day 15: Carpenteria to Simi Valley: 52 miles, 1,699 feet climbing

Coastal Highway

A fast ride down foggy Highway 101 took us to Ventura to visit Mission San
Buenaventura. After visiting the mission, we continued the ride through the streets
of Ventura and headed inland. On Los Angeles Road, Highway 118, we rode though
a rural, agricultural area and were introduced to our first smog. I wondered how
they could grow crops in such brown pollution. The road, with a minimal shoulder,
was narrow and heavy with 18 wheelers, not quality riding. After about 10 hot,
dusty miles we finally came to a lone fruit stand and wolfed down soft drinks and
fruit. The lady running the place, with inch long finger nails, looked like a
fortune teller. She would not let us fill our water bottles from her hose. She
wanted to sell us water. Takes all kinds. We arrived in Simi Valley in the late
afternoon and stopped at a motel for the night. A near by El Toretto Mexican
restaurant provided us with dinner and tequilas.

Harry's New Wheels

Day 16: Simi Valley to San Gabriel: 57 miles, 1,610 feet climbing

Today we would descend into the jaws of the metropolitan LA megapolis. The ride
started with a climb over the 1,568 foot Santa Susana Pass. A photo that I snapped
from atop the pass captured a UFO flying over Simi Valley, but it made no move to

Simi Valley and UFO

abduct us. Looking eastward we could see that the San Fernando Valley was blanketed
in a brown haze of smog. We descended into San Fernando Valley and mentally girded
ourselves for a challenging urban ride. Other than pesky stop lights the ride to
Mission San Fernando Ray de Espana went smoothly. Most of the streets enroute
included bike lanes. My throat felt itchy and raw. I blamed it on the smog.

San Fernando Traffic

Our next visit that day was to be Mission San Gabriel Arcangel. We rode without
incident through the traffic of Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena. The last few miles
through Pasadena’s exclusive residential area of grandiose homes and elegant
landscapes brought us to the Mission. After visiting the mission we rode another
4-5 miles into a large Asian community and found a very cheap motel along Interstate
10. That evening we dined on some interesting dishes in an authentic Chinese
restaurant. Paul reported seeing a missile launched from Vandenberg AFB. It left a
beautiful trail that was reportedly also visible in Sacramento.

Day 17: San Gabriel to Capistrano: 68 miles, 1,256 feet climbing

Today we headed straight for the San Gabriel River and the bike trail that extended
along it to Seal Beach on the coast. We quickly covered the 20 miles of trail.

San Gabriel River Bike Trail

As we approached the coast the concrete-lined river harbored more wildlife. Along
one stretch we counted about 6 different species of sea birds. The downwind ride
along the coast went smoothly until we entered Laguna Beach where we had a series of
hills and heavy traffic to deal with. I was exhausted when we finally arrived at
San Juan Doheny Beach State campground at 2:00 PM only to be informed that we could
not register at the bike-and-hike until 4:00 PM. We decided to ride the 5 miles
inland after a late lunch to visit San Juan Capistrano and return at 4:00. A milk
shake and cheesy mushroom burger at Denny’s was too much for me; I felt woozy and
nauseous on the ride to the mission.

Mission San Juan Capistrano was a high point of our tour. As mission number 19,
it marked the near completion of our trip, and it is reputed to be the most
beautiful and famous of all the missions. I felt, however, that we were
entering Disneyland as we paid a whopping $5.00 (senior) entry fee at the
ticket booth. A funeral was about to begin in the chapel amongst tourists snapping
pictures, very southern California, I guess. The bike-and-hike at San Juan Doheny

Gold Alter Mission San Juan Capistrano

was a tiny plot behind the restroom. That evening we dined on canned tamales and
were kept awake until 10:00 that night by a noisy boy scout troop camping next to us.

Day 18: Capistrano to San Elijo State Beach: 54 miles, 1.461 feet climbing

This foggy morning we rode through Camp Pendleton (U.S.M.C.). The first 12-15
miles through the camp was on a good bike trail paralleling Interstate 5 and the
last 7 miles put us on the shoulder of the Interstate. Along the way we were
confronted with several hundred cyclists coming from the opposite direction on an
organized bike ride, and we had to ring our bells at them to avoid collisions in
the fog. At Oceanside we rode about 5 miles inland to visit Mission San Luis Ray
de Francia.

Mission San Luis Ray

Back on the coast on our way to the San Elijo campground near Encinitas we saw many
fast cyclists. One of them sitting along side the road seemed to be wearing the
familiar yellow, red and blue as we whizzed by. At the campground entrance a rider
did indeed pull behind us wearing the Sacramento Wheelmen jersey. His name was
Steve Oates. Presently in the Navy Reserve, he was a former Wheelman. Meeting
him was pure coincidence. He had not heard of our tour.

Steve Oates

Fortunately we were the first into the miniscule bike-and-hike area which had only
one table. Bob abandoned us this evening and ate dinner with his son in law and
two grandsons who live in the area. While Paul, Harry and I were dining on cold
bagel and cheese sandwiches, a strange couple with suitcases, speaking an
unrecognizable language, strolled into the site and set up a tiny child-sized tent.
A little later a young lady, another Canadian, rolled in on her heavily loaded bike.
She was riding down the coast alone. She chained her bike to the fire place much
to the chagrin of the strange couple who planned to build a fire amidst our tents

Canadian Camp Mate

to cook a dinner. They were quite miffed when she wouldn’t move her bike, but we
thanked her for standing firm. Bob returned to camp before sunset and we retired
our usual time.

Day 19: San Elijo State Beach to San Diego: 45 miles, 2,000 feet climbing

This morning was very foggy and another “camper” had arrived sometime during the
night, a bearded guy with no bag or blankets sleeping on newspapers right by Bob’s

Foggy Morning

tent. Today we would make the final push down the Pacific Highway to complete the
tour and visit the last mission, San Diego de Alcala. A short ride of about 10
miles brought us to Torrey Pines and our last big climb up a grade to about 600
feet. We then diverted west through La Jolla to avoid several big climbs that we
would have faced with a more direct course inland to the mission. In San Diego we
rode 6 miles inland on Friars Road to the last mission. Some young ladies in front
of the mission were very impressed and excited about our achievement. They took
our picture and gave Harry a big hug. What is it about that guy? The rest of us
were ignored. Maybe we hunks just appeared too threatening.

Mission San Diego

We proceeded on to the San Diego Amtrak station where we officially completed our
bike riding and the tour. We made it! We took the next commuter train that
afternoon to LA, purchased our tickets for the next day’s train back to Sacramento,
and boxed up our bikes. After booking two rooms at a nearby hotel for the night
we strolled into China town for dinner. Even though the 14 hour ride back to
Sacramento was long, it felt good to sit in a comfortable seat watching the scenery
roll by and not have to pedal for a change. The train route backtracked along much
of our course and we recognized many of the roads we had ridden, including the
gravel detour into SLO.

Reservations for dinner on the train were filled by travelers in the sleeping
compartments, and we were put on a waiting list. We about gave up on being served
when at 8:00 p.m. we were called, a part of the last seating. Dinner that evening
on the train was a very special event. We made our final toasts and celebrated a
successful and safe completion of Mission Possible, 1,005 miles distance and 34,347
feet of climbing.

Celebration Dinner on Train

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